The Sun. — London, England, 1808-01-26 00:00:00

rn!!acvne would wet no opposition:, The Bill did nril' rest on his . authority, nor on that. of any tior any set of . inaiiiduals. It was the Bill . of the littuse, unaniffiolsik passed, and, unless there should 'be some material reason, whiCh . he could not see, for .chatiging, its determination, 'the House would maintain its own work. It Was onlY,neces ... nary fo'r him to state these faels, - and be was per suaded, that what the House thought proper bi,,fore, it . would think equally proper now. But if there should be in airy quarter an opinion, that the Bill xvent to , trench on the:prerogatiye of the Clown, he bad to suite in answer, that, in his view, it did not tot ell the prerocntive at all, or touched on it:t o con- firm and extend, rather than to abridge or weaken it. For if there was any temporary suspension of the present power' of making grants of offices, that pow . er was to be restored in time, and increased both bin the amount of the obje& of the grant, and tlqe opportunities of making a more advantageous choice of a person to till. the office, Thus a better effect was produced, as well to the Crown as to the people, a grants in reversion were allowed, they Would pass insilerie& and the propriety or impro priety of the appointment ti'puld remain unknown, till the per Son came to Et6L- But if the giant could be: made 'only in the' case of aelual vacancy, there would he a notoriety attending the appointment, Which would prevent the prerogative frail being abused -in fairouV of any ,improper person. This would he an advantage worth looking to at. any time, but at this time in particular, when. an in quiry had been carried on, and was likely to be re commended, with a view to ascertain what reforms Could be made in the Offices Of the'State. Grants in reversion would have the elle& of putting off to distance, and rendering more uncertain, -tile bene fits of any reform that may be recommended Can sequence of this inquiry. He saw no necessity for enlarging fnrher in recommending a measure which had pz mid the House unanimously on two former occasions, and which he hoped would pass Willi the same unanimity now. • Mr. IV DUNDAS, thought himself called upon to state his diStinet opposition to the Measure pro posed. It was not the custom of Parliament to pass in a tillbgeqUent Session what it l l 'ad ag re ed . to as a matter of course in a preceding 'Session. The dis.: cretion of every Member remained open to Correa itself on retleetion. 'Moe!) less was it - to be regard ed as a matter of course, that the House Was bound to agree in every respeei, and to coincide in every rec‘gnmendation of the Committees it appeinted.r— tvery thing was to be considered and re-considered often its itAlime.l:befor,the-House, upon the' of the at invents that .should app ear fo r an d ti . . . alnst it. He opposed the present -rnz:asure on the broad ground o its invading .the inherent prerogative cif the Crown, not merely by susperidim, but by tak lug ate' :y and, -destroying its right of grantinacer taM2ffiees according to established usuage. He did not think there was much :,ondity in the argument, that gratitg in reversion v,.(;re to be exercised in favour of imprOTer person-,:. The advisers of the Crown were, alWays responsible for any improprie ty of this kind, whether the grant was direOCor re versionary. The'line he took on this occasion may not, be *popular, but he would do his duty. When the abolition, and reformation Of offices, and the li mitation of the prerogalive of the crown with re: spat to them, was talked of, he could not help re collecting the instance d a distinguished' charaaer whom he remembered in . that House (Mt.. Burke), Who had• been tiros! a6tive in the early part of his political career in reforming and abolishing offices, 'and in limiting the prerogatiye of .the Crown, and Who lived to lament add condemn' all those re forms,, abolitions, and liMitations. He again in shied on the power of the House over the acts of its Committees, and recommended the preier vation of the prerogative of the Crown, which was the foundation of the privileges of the House itself. _ _ Mr. WHITBREA - D should consider himself • Wanting to his doty if he suffered what had fallen from the Hon. GentleMO te pass without animad version. The only reason the Hoe. Gentleman gave for opposing the motion 'was, that if trenched on the "prerogatiVe. In the first-pike, he (Mr. WHIT.. BREAD) denied that it did; and if it did, That it 'would be no reason why the House should refuse to de its duty, in watching over the Crown,eas it Was bound to do over every branch of ;he Constitution. Tile House had at one time resoleed,,that the . power of the Crown was excessive, and it was the right and duty of the House to do so again if it *should see just reason.. When he 'had first beard the lion, Gentleman' announce an oppositlon.so unexoe6tcd, was at e loss ler the motive thet compelled him to So extraordinary a ptoceeding ; he was not aware that the Hotiourable Gentleman had the motive o f gratitudeebeing himself a reversioner, or the holder of an office greeted in reversion. It was'certainly the right of the House to re-consider, and if it saw reason, to reverse its own :las. But the reason should be strong and clear ; otherwise the restraint of public opinion, Which he did not hold so lightly a; th e ne e , Gentleman seemed to ,do, would be a check even upon these who would otherwise be dis posed to imitate the Hon. Gentleman, by stepping forward in defence of the prerogative when assailed by,,the most ilua,„crinaiy..clanger. The. Hon. Gentle. man contended that there was no substance in the distirt6tieo bet Ween sespe.ndieg end taking away the pow ei of greet All that was taken away was the power of mahing grants liable to abuSe; and in feet generally abused. The Hon. Gentleman gliestioned the feel of the liability to abuse, The Hon. Gentleman may have been a man, and capable of performing whatever duty Was annexed to the. office granted to him in , reversion, at ,the time. the grant was made : 'but others were, not so; and th ere were Mae) , instance e fresh in the meMery 'of those around him of reversious grented to infants in the cr- (Ile: Unless the HeinGentleman would aUtiow e ece that to be inroper, it was in vain to think arguing ,with hen. Others wouA condemn the pratlice ot making such grams. The Right .Hon. cientleman Oppesite (the Chancellor of the k.:xche : .- erier) was in tab but an intact io the cradle, or at 12 .Ist a very piing miner, when a grant was made to hioe in revtici:nn of a very lucrativ e ()ince,. . new herd by a Neble Itthtive of the Right Hen. Gyntlernan'i t , tor Whom* lie had privately a great re-' c' t, as lie had also for the Right Hon. Gentleman: : It was i m p u ,sible at that time to foresee that the fight Hon. would. possess the brilliant ta lents vs hick bad raised him to the; distinguished gat iQu be now 4ad.; A or could! there evep have best! THE SUN. IOL&M QUI& DICgAlt FALNUM LONDON, TUESDAY, JANUARY 26, 1808. WE this morning received iintericuin Tapers to the 29th ult. and we are happy to 'find from them that the Embargo which ste annonncedyesterday, is - by no moans so hostile . a measure as 'we at first ap prehended : the Embargo was not la; I upon British' but upon American Ships, and app:ar to be n4erei r y , a measure of precaution. It is not direzied against . Greqt Britain more than against .Franee. With -re spe& to the general question . of Peke of ,War •, between. this Conntry and America; these Pipers contain no decisive information ; to cieed it wonlitU strange if America were to take any steps diretAly hostile, before the arrival of Mr.... Rosa, autL. of :course, before the nature of the Propositions of which he is the bearer can be known. The following is an Extra& of a Private Letter which we were. this morning favoured ,with frond" New York : " Nuw-YonK, Dec. 26.-4 inclose you the latest news. from Washington : we await • the arrival or Mr. Rost; with some degree of anxiety, not one' word having been heard of, the Staiira since her leaving England, though several Vessels have reach ed'Atuerica that left England after Mr: ROSE'S de. part u re. The present Embargo does not, .as you will perceive, include British Vessels of any description." Fr has been stated, that the reason why Sir RICHARD STRACHAN did not pursue the Rochefort. Squadron was, because. his Ships were not ptovi• elated fora long voyage. We' are, however, en bled to state, upon unquestionable authority, that all the Ships. under the, command of Sir R. STRActiAw had been completely vilualled andy!atered only two djys li2foro the Rochefort Squadron sailed. Tills morning two Gottenturgh Mails arrived : their contents will be found in a subsequent co lumn. Jr will be gratifying to the Public to learn, that it is very probable that a restoration of harmony will take place between a great Personage and his amiable Consort, an event which has long been eagerly de sired by all who feel rightly, and who arc properly attached to the interests of this Country. The Princess, of \VALES, having occasion to make a new appointment to the office of Vice-Chamberlain of her Household, addressed a letter to the PRINCE, in which she intimated her desire of nominating ANTHONY ST. LEGER, Esq. to the situation, if His Royal Highness approved of such ,a choice. The an swer of the Prince, according to report, was conveyed in the most courteous terms, manifesting, not only an entire concurrence in the wishes of her Royal High ness on the present occasion, but signifying that he should be highly gratified if, in every future arrange ment of her household, she would ate according to the dire6tion of her own feelings and judgment.— Such an affable, conclitattng, and engaging atten tion te.the wishes of her. Royal Highness, has led the way to the good offices of those who are really zealous for the welfare and happiness of both parties, and it is .hoped that the result will be a complete re-union, i circumstance that would doubtless afford pleasure. to thopeople in general, as well as to the illustrious family immediately concerned_in so inter esting aui event. Yesterday the LOkD CLIANCEI:LOR, Earl BA.• THORST, Lord HAWK.F.SBURY, the ATTORNEY and SOLICITOR GUI ER ALS, Sir WILLIAM SCOTT, Sir Thow NtcHOLL, and the Right Honourable GEORGE Rose, had a contiirenee with the CHAN CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, 'at big house in Down ing-street. 'Their,, deliberations lasted upwards of two .li-Ouri. The Swedish army consists, at this moment, of 45,000 infantry, 8000 cavalry, and 3700 artillery— in all, 5(i,700 men, without reckoning Officers and others employed. A Smuggling .Vessel,. which is 'arrived . off Dover, has brought Letters from the Coast of France, which state that an Embargo ha been actually laid on all Vessels in the French Ports. Some letters were received from Holland yester day, but none of very recent dates. It is reported iu some of them, that the Dutch Government in. tend to grant licences for the exportation of corn to this Country. A number of American Vessels have been stopped by French Privateers, and carried into Dunkirk Lind Calais. 'His MAJEsTY's Post-Masteis :General have. ap pointed Mr. Rom's,. the Atsling Captain of 'the IP33lficar..Cts.ll4) Paolcor, • ris n cu ux,uj.retr• stances can be bond of more determined bravery than that shewn ti ) the whole crew, which Consist ed of n ty-eight Men and hoys. The mus ter-roll of th a French Privateer had tog men, of whom there appeared, on thearrival'of the Packet at Barbadoes, tit killed and wounded.!--forty of whom were mawed down by the last fire. ,Captains BAYNTUN and THOMPSON, and Lieute nant BA It K ER, as, v'vell as Admkral MURRXY, are or- tiered 'to attend oil the trial of Gen. WHITEL.OOKE. Another,,pedestrian, of the name of Downe, who resides at,.Dimsdon, Oxfordshire, has started up to rival the performance ot: the Officer who recently walked 30 wiles a day for leo clayi, ,fri Devonshire. Downe has undertaken to go 40 wiles a day, for ten successive days, for 100 guineas, and, the day of :starting is fixed for to-morrow. His route Will be chiefly 'on the western ,road, .and, he will start at Dorchester; Oxon, and proceed towards Newbery. He has ,offered, eor a large sum, 16 go 3.5 miles a day, for 20 days, in a fortnight after he shall have completed his present task. EtoresiENT.—The wife of a corn-dealer, or far mer, in the'neighbourhOod of Rotberhithe, eloPed with a Lieutenant of Marines on Tuesday last, who had v occasionally resided. for three years in the house, and her retreat was discovered by the husband at a place near Carnaby Market, on Sunday night. The wife is on the wrong side of forty, and is the mother of seven children by her husband, but her rooted affettiori Tor her paramour was manifest, by the re sistance.she made to the efforts of her husband, in attempting to restore her to her family. A general " - ow was the consequence, and the whole took up their teitiporary . abode in the watch-house, until it could be 'determined what was the cause of the al .fray. The wife was yesterday escorted to' Bother- Aiietie by her npshanu, 5n.41 ner.galant.,was bound 'over to keep the peace. . • Doislats, JAN. 21.--Yesterday a 'Meeting of the principal' Roman Catholics was held in.this city, 'to take into consideration the expediency of a Petition to Parliament for the complete emancipation holm% • sought for. Lord FINGAL was, called to the• Chair ' • when, after considerable discussion, it was re so l v ed, that the former Petition should be presented 'again : 'two or. threespeakers recommended a postponement of this measure, on a ground of commendable deli cacy, but this 3 - was over-ruled. Lord KENMAKE, LOT(' QouNtANSTOwpr, Lord SovriiirELL, Ldrd FHENCH,•Count DALTON, and various other persons of distinction, were present at this important dis cossimi. . At'a nurnerous, and respeEtable Meeting of the Merchants, Ship-Owners' and other Inhabitants of Greenock,, the Town Hall on Wednesday last, in consequence of a previous notice tulhat pur pose, a loyal and dutiful Address to his MAJESTY on ti present' situation of public affairs, was voted unanimously. • The 2d battalion of the 69th regiment of foot passed through Southampton last ,week Oil .their route to embark fur ,the £ast Indies, -to join the Ira hattalio-u. 411IERICAN PAPERS. NEW-YORK, Dim 34. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM WASHINGTON« " It is said that the E.nperor of France has put'- , chased Florida for himself; and offers to the United States Canada and Nova Scotia, if they will consent to take John Bull by the Horns." any certainty that he would have abilities to perform the duties annexed to the office granted to him 'in. reversion, which, as far as he (Mr. Whitbread). could learn, was merely W count the.money it pro duced,before he put it into his 'pocket. He thought it necessary to re-state.thus correatly the 'argument:B on which the Hon. Mover rested the motion, fo or der that those who were not reversioners may form a correct judgment for themselves. He hoped the motion would now pass with the same unaniniity that had attended it before.. Sir JOHN IVEWPORT thought it his ,duty to state a particular instance in which. the reform of an office recommended by, the Committee:of In quiry, in Ireland, could not be carried intiiii,etrea, in consequence of its being'granied in reversion.-+ The office he alluded to was that of o'l'4i:i - kr of the Port of Dublin. It had been granted in . revet',- sion upon reversion to three persons at a time. Two of these' had died while the reform was in preparation ; but , the right of the third barred the reform. . .111 r. HORNER rose to vindicate the illustrious name of Mr. Burke from the imputation oast by the Hon. Gentleman, who charged 'fiat great and up right man with regretting, in his' later days, those measures of reform and 'economy, and constitutional restraint on the prerogative, which he hull been so aelive in bringing forward at the close ache ,Ame rican War. Those who were most .confidentially intimate with Mr. Burke in his later das,'kneW that, on the contrary, lie spoke with pride and plea sure of the patriotic services which the Hon. Gen tleman considered so much matter .of repentance and remorse. But it was not verbal evidence atone that could be adduCed in vindication of Mt.tarke— the latest of his published works were testimony to his proud and unrepenting recolleCtion *those aCts the Hon. Gentleman alluded to,. by the pains he took to shew their perfe& consistency . with his latter .cOnduCt. The opposition of the Honourable . Gentleman arose, it appeared, not so much from pure regard to the prerog,aiive; as froth a fear', that this Might be the commencement of a war against profusion and prodigality, and the first step towards an attempt to introduce a system of reform and eco nomy.. The measure now proposed was the . , first step, and bilt El small step towards those refortits that • were proposed , by the Committee instituted- last year, Sand on that ground he supported it. He. was of opinion that it would neither 'increase 1“x dimi nish the prerogative. It . would afford a proteiition frOm practical abUse, in which mane of the advisers of the Crown, as example proved, might otherwise orticipath instead of restraining. The BW ,WaS be respeCied, because it came froM a Cdinniitte appointed by the Hbuse to consider the•rnefans of reducing the public expenditure,, and .• because it' was the first step recommended by the Committee for the attainment of .that , object ; and whether it should be deemed expedient as an ulterior measure ' to purchase the interests , of the present reversioners,. or to await. the expiration of their tehns, ;ie. was equally unfit that further grants in reversion'lhould . be made. • - The question being put, leave. was giien to bring in the Bill,• with the single dissenting voice of Mr. W. Du NDAS. Mr. BAN ICES afterwards broUght in the Bill, which was read , a first time, and ordered to be read a second time on Wednesday, and to be printed. On the Motion of the CHARCELLOII of the 'EXCHEQUBR, - his Majesty's Speech was' referred to. a Committee of rite whnlet Honig. to pit morrow. On the motion of Sir Joitri NEWI'ORT, it W3F) ordered, that there be laid, before the House an Ac count of the number of gallont4 Of spirits, for which duty had been paid in Ireland, in the year outing Jana I, 1808. Al. o, an Account of the quantity ; of corn, ;grain, meal, and flour imported,into Great Britain ) from Ireland.--Adjourned: MAILS. AO.itIVILD...4 New• York, 2 Gottenburgli, t Dublin, t Wa. tertord. Dos-2. Gottcnburgh, t Malta, t Dublin, t Waterford. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS A 1 Y AT TVIILLVZ O'CLOCK. Consols - - 6.lll , omnium . it EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM PHILADELPHIA. " I have little doubt that an Embargo will be laid. Letters from Congress, and other good quarters, all unite in this belief. This measure is viewed as one intended to prevent any ill effe6t 'from (he pos ture of our affairs with France. Great-Britain. it seems, is not dreaded." LATEST FROM W•XSHINGTOti. EXTRACT OF A LETTER FROM WASHINGTON, TOTIIii EDITOR OF THE UNITED STATES GAZETTE, DAVID FRIDAX MORNING, MCC. 18. I Since the arrival of Dr. BuLids with Dispatches froni England and France, no small sensation and alarm has been excited. The contents of these DIP patches are not yet publicly known, but they are supposed to be very unfavourable, particularly those from France. It is rumoured here in the mot respectable circles that these Dispatches give in foimation of BIJOiZAPAIiTE'S intention that his Decree shall be enforced in its utmost rigour, and further that there shall no longer tie any Neutral Nations ; that in case we wilt join him in a war against England, he will guarantee to us the ces sion of Canada and Nova. Scotia, at a general Peace; that in,tead'of interceding in . our behalf at the Sr' Wish Cotirt for the Floridas, he has secured them to himself, ostensibly to enable him the better to re cover St. Domlngo, but in truth more 666tually annoy us. `Stith are the rumours afloat in, this City ; but though . I state them as rumours, yet they are gelle . rally believed to be . substantiaHy:eorEec,i,....'.The-Y- ar° at' least reported as correa by the friends of do Gpvernment, and have excited a consideraule alarm among them. 'lt now seems likely that the onli . way to preserve our Neutrality is, like the sons o f Ishmael, to raise our hands against every man. -It is oxpeeted that these dispatches %via be con• fidentially communicated to Congress to-day. Y , shall not seal this Letter till afternoon, so that in the event of such a communication I will apprize you of it. Frida4 j, Five o'Clock, P.lll.—At twelve o'clock , a confidential message was received from the Presi dent by both Houses of Congress. Thp doors woo soon after shut, and both Houies .are still in con clave. Mr. MPNROE arrived at Norfolk on Saturday. Letters have been received from hi n by Members of Congress since his atrival. - It is rutnonred that Mr. Ross, the British Envoy, is coming up the bay. Commodore RODGERS has arrived here on his WY to Norfolk. He is nominated President of the Court Martial summoned for the trial ,of Corattlo- dore BARRON. Saturday Morning, Dec. 19.—Tbe Senate were, yesterday in secret Session from I 2 o'clock till five' , and the House of Representatives from twelve . till nearly six. Both branches, contrary to cUs' torn, adjourned to meet again to-day. These secret deliberations are occasioned by dispatches from Mr. ARMSTRONG at Paris. Dr. BALLI,IS brought dig patches also from London, but they were only tbd duplicates of what had been teceived, before.-- 112 ° information communicated by the President!yester 4ay related chiefly, if not wholly, to France, and is understood to be of a most interesting and IT mentuous nature. A general gloom appears in the countenances and deportment of the Members of Congress. The precise contents of the Dispatches are not generally known to the. Public, but they are without a question unfavourable to this Country, and a Wa t with France is now spoken .of. as an event equally probable as a War with England. that BUON APARTE h as d e t erm i ne d to en f or ce his Decree against Neutral C om m erce t o i ts ut mo,t e%' tent. This must p ro d uce re t a li at i on on the part of 'England: so that betwe en th em b o th we ar e likely, to be driven from the ocean , an d l ose t h e w hole of our trade. .ILia,believa What measures Congress will adopt in this alarin ing and perilous crisis, - it remains yet 'to be sten.--' To avert the impending danger, and provide an ef' featial security- for our rights against the Belligerent Powers, will require all the wisdom of Governmen t. To them the community look for direction and sup" pOrt.—They will be held responsible for their mea" s ures in this critical moment and great and awful is that responsibility. The rumour out of doors is, that the Executive has recommended an immediate Embargo, and that Congress is now deliberating on the guhjea• measures may have been proposed and consider ed but anEnthargo has certainly occupied no sm all, share of their recent delib e rations. Other